Thursday, May 18, 2017

The Amazing Screw-On Head

Mike Mignola is best known as the creator of the immensely popular comic and film franchise, 'Hellboy'. But in 2002, Mike created a short story called 'The Amazing Screw-On Head' which has since gone on to become many of his fans favorite works of his.

Published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002, starring the character of the same name, The Amazing Screw-On Head is a quirky story about a robot whose head can be attached to different bodies, each with different tactical abilities. The Amazing Screw-On Head functions as an agent of the U.S. Government, and is tasked with keeping President Abraham Lincoln safe from Occult threats.

The comic was met with great success, and was optioned as an animated series. The Sci-Fi Channel even went as far as producing a pilot episode. Sadly, the show wasn't picked up, but we can still enjoy the 22 minute pilot, which does a fantastic job of emulating Mignola's style and stars actors like Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce.

You can watch the full episode below:

In addition to the original publication, you can also find a special Artist's Edition of 'The Amazing Screw-On Head', published by IDW. This enormous book (12x17 inches) reproduces all the original art at it's original size, without it's digital colorization. However, the black and white pages are actually reproduced in color regardless, which gives an amazing representation of what the original pages look like without and digital level adjustments. You can variations in the type of ink he uses, and even the pencil work behind the inks. It's a true feast for artists.